Improvement in hydrants



AJAMES WALSH.

Improvement in H-ydrants. N0. 114.996. Pateted May6,187l.

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l Letters Patent No. 114,996, dated May 16, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN HVDRANTS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making pari: of the same.

' i', JAMES WALSH, of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented .certain improvements in Hydrauts and in Valve-Cocks for Hydra-nts, Sac., of which the following is a specification.

Nature cmd Object of the Invention. My invention consists of certain improvements, too fully described hereafter to need preliminary explanation, in hydrants, and also in valve-cocks to be used in connection with hydrants, and for other purposes.

Descr/@tion of the Accompanying Drawing. Fignre'l is a vertical .section of my improved hydrant;

Figure 2, an enlarged view of' the lower portion of 'the same, with the working parts in a diiioerent posi-V vopening in the body of the hydrant', and terminating in a nozzle, b and F, the operating-rod,,secured at its upper end to au arm or lever, c, which is pivoted to the cap ofthe hydrant, and arranged to be operated in such a manner as to raise and lower the rod.

The lower portion of the body of the hydrant, close to the surface ofthe ground, is protected against dampvness and rot bya three-sided metal plate, G, which. also serves as a means of securing the hydrant to the borgiu such a manner that it can be readily detached from the same.

In order to enable the upper portion of the hydrant to be thus detached from the box for the purpose of obtaining access to the parts within the latter without digging it up as usual, the upright7 pipe D is made in two sections, connected together by a ground slipjoint at al, which joint is oi' such construction as-to prevent leakage and yet 'allow the two sections ofthe pipe to be readily connected and disconnected.

The water-supply pipe C communicates with the bottom'of a valve-casing, H, and the latter is connected, by means of a branch, O', with the upright pipe 'of the casing h1.

D, which communicates at its lower end with the interior oi' a casing or cylinder, J.

The latter has a closely-fitting pistou, K, and is intendpd for the same purpose as the com pressible hall or bag described in 'my patent of J auuary 18, 1870- that is, toreceive above its piston the water which would otherwise remain in the upright pipe after the.

closing of the valve, and which might become frozen iu and' burst the said pipe.

Both the pistou K and valve L within the casing H are operated by the 4rod F through the medium of ,a system of levers hereafter described, but in such a manner that the valve shall iu every case be lowered into its seat and the water shut off -before the pistou commences to descend into the cylinder, in order that the latter may receive the water from the pipe D.

The construction of the valve andV its casing forms an important feature oi my invention, and is as follows:

When arranged for a hydrant the valve-casing consists of three parts, namely, of the base h, the casing proper h1, and cap h2.

rlihe base 71, is furnished with lugs t, or is otherwise constructed for ready attachment to the bottom board m ofthe'hydraut, and is recessed for the reception of the lower rounded end ofthe casing h1, which is screwed into it in the manner plainly shown in the drawing, so as to form, between the said casing and base, a chamber, o, which communicates with the interior of the valve-casing through an opening, c',

. formed in the latter.

rlhe water-supply pipe O is attached to the base h and communicates with the chamber c, and the brauch c is attached to andA communicates with the interior The cap h2 is threaded externally, and is screwed into the top ofthe casing. It has lalso internal screwthreads of a steep pitch, p, which are adapted to corre-` sponding threads of the valve L.

rlhe latter has asemicircular or rounded face adapted to a corresponding seat at thc bottom of the casing, and is also' ground to the sides of the latter.

It is operated by a rod, c, which passes upward,

through the cap; and, to avoid the necessity of having a stuiiing-box in the latter, leakage is prevented by -adapting the upper portion of the valve to groundseats formed in the cap at both or either of the points 1) and p'.

The above valve and casing can, at any time, be removed from the hydrant for the purpose of repairs, dto., without involving the necessity of digging up the latter, as all that is required is to uuscrew it from the hase h, which remains secured to the bottom board. Ilhe said valve is of especial utility for hydrants, as it isf entirely free from leakage, and no objectionable stuiling-hoxes are employed.

l' ig The thread upon the valve is of so steep a pitch that one-half or three-quarters of a turn will raise it suicently from its seat to permit the water to flow freely beneath the same from the pipe O through the opening c into the branch c', and thence to the upright pipe D.

The stem e ofthe valve terminates at its upper' end in a horizon-tal arm, f, acted upon by a spring, S, andy Vreaches the top, or nearly to the top of the cylinderA J, the water being, consequently, forced out of the latter'nto the uprightA pipe D.

During this movement the action of the spring s on the arm f will prevent any movement of the same,

and the valve will. consequently remain undisturbed in its seat.

As the piston approaches the limit of its upward movement, however, the fulcrum of the lever m will be changed from the point a: to the point y, and as the rod F still continues to be raised after this change of fulcrum, the arm f of the valve-stem will be turned, and the valve, owing to itsv steep screw-thread, be raised suiciently from its seat to permit the water to flow freely beneath the same through the branch c into the upright pipe, and thence to the dischargenozzle All this occurs, it should be remembered, when the piston K is raised, so that when the lever c is operated in a contrary direction, and the operating-rod F, lever m, and' rod h are lowered, the valve, owing to the action of the spring s, will first be closed, so as to shut off the supply of water, and on continuing the downwardmovement of the rod F the piston K will be caused to descendto the bottom of the cylinder, so that the column of water in the pipe I) will be permitted to flow into and ill the latter. v f

In the modification of my invention, represented in g. 4, the cylinder J has two openings leading to the upright pipe D,` one of which is provided'with auralve opening upward, so that the water, n leaving the cylinder', has egress from the same through two openings, but on entering the cylinder can pass through but one opening only. The object of this arrangement is to prevent too sudden a passage of water into thecylinder.

The valve-cock also may be modified, as shown in iig. 6, where it will be seen that the base h and its chamber c are dispensed with, the casing h1 forming the base of the valve, and being secured directly t0v the bottom board of the hydrant.

It should be understood that the valve-cock can be used for ordinary'hydrants which are not provided with my improved wash-receiver. In such case the cock should be so arranged as' to permit the waste 'water from the upright pipe to pass off into the ground.

-The valve-cock, although especially adapted for hydrants, can, it will be evident, be used fora variety of purposes in place of ordinary valvecoclrs.

The application of theslip-joint to the vertical delivery-pipe of a hydrant permits the removal of the upper .part of the hydrant without the necessity of digging away the earth to gain access to the connections, or of cutting the pipes, as is necessary when no such device is used.

I do not claim, broadly, a receptacle arranged below the vertical delivery-pipe to receive the water remaining in the latter after the supply-pipe is closed, as an elastic receptacle for this purposeis shown in theLetters Patent granted to me January 18, 1870.

Practical tests have shown that the said elastic receptacle, although eicient in some instances, is liable to wear away rapidly and become ruptured. By substituting a cylinder and piston as above described these objections are obviated.

It will be seen that the cylinder c is so situated that any particles of matter, sediment, Ste., which may en ter the valve-chamber will descend into the chamber, so that the valve can always be brought closely against its seat.

Claims.

'1. The combination, with the vertical delivery-pipe D, of an inflexible cylinder, J, arranged below and communicating with said pipe and a piston sliding in said cylinder, and operating so as to raise the water into or draw it from the said pipe, as specified.

2. The combination and arrangement, substantially as herein described, of the operating-rod4 Il, cylinder J, and piston K, valve-case H, and the intervening devices, consisting of the lever M, rod g, and arm f, with its spring s.

3. The combination, i'n a hydrant, of the stationary box B, detachable body A, and a delivery-pipe, D, di-

vided near the point where the body and box are joined, and provided at said point with a slip-joint, as specified. p

4. The combination, with the casing hl, screw-cap h, and pipes c c', of a valve, Il, having internal threads adapted to threads in the cap, and operating as described. p o 5. The combination of the base H, detachable casing h1, and intervening chamber c, for the purpose specified.

VIn testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.-

. JAMES WALSH. Witnesses:

WM. A. STEEL, F. B. RICHARDS. 

